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Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

Where would they play out of? Be a travelling circus? They wouldn't be up to the standard of a 2nd XI team anyway.

Yes they would be. They're made up of a number of players who could get state cricket contracts if they tried but have chosen other paths. And the idea would be that they're based in the country's capital, funnily enough.

Think 8 teams is fine for now. Do the TV deal (4-5 years?), re-asses in 2016 or something. We should probably be focused on getting the most out of the 'other' Sydney and Melbourne teams from now til then, rather than Canberra, Newcastle etc

Canberra alone clearly wouldn't be able to compete against the teams in the Big Bash, but if you take the best of them plus the best of the other states out of the metro areas you'd get a team that would be very competitive.

It obviously will never happen because these guys have real jobs that most of them couldn't leave for a number of weeks just to play cricket.

Yes they would be. They're made up of a number of players who could get state cricket contracts if they tried but have chosen other paths. And the idea would be that they're based in the country's capital, funnily enough.

It fails on two fronts:

It doesn't operate in the same manner as the rest of the tournament, where players move around and are chosen from a pool.

Secondly, I know from playing against these guys that what the depth in those teams isn't enough for it to be competitive. There's guys like May from Queensland who are exactly what you describe, and then others who have been to Grade cricket and failed. Others have been chasing the cricket dream, playing for the ACT, and it hasn't turned out for them.

Is this CricketWeb's greatest poster in the short history of the forum?

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So out of last years Aust Country team, which players do you think wouldn't make the cut? Each of the players in that squad would make any squad in the big bash given some of the guys running around last season. Alot of these guys were successful grade players but moved away and have improved their game if anything. It's such a narrow minded view.

Your point about not running the same as the other franchises - who cares? Totally irrelevant point.

How is it irrelevant? The whole system for the Big Bash has been set up for a very specific reason for marketing. If they were to launch another two teams, it'd be occurring in a very similar manner.

I don't know much at all about the guys from last year's championships. They might've gotten games for the Thunder, that'd be about it - guys don't get games as batsmen unless they have been identified at youth level in Australian cricket. Bowlers I'm a bit more open to, but look at Feldman, he's been picked in the Australian country side a couple of times, and no-one wants him in their team in 2011/12 or this year. Then again, Harwood is proof of what happens in the country, but it also speaks largely about how the state system will do whatever it can to get players it thinks can be a genuine asset to the state to come and play.

I think you underrate the state bodies' ability to unearth the players from the country that they think are good enough.

Is this CricketWeb's greatest poster in the short history of the forum?

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Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

How is it irrelevant? The whole system for the Big Bash has been set up for a very specific reason for marketing. If they were to launch another two teams, it'd be occurring in a very similar manner.

I don't know much at all about the guys from last year's championships. They might've gotten games for the Thunder, that'd be about it - guys don't get games as batsmen unless they have been identified at youth level in Australian cricket. Bowlers I'm a bit more open to, but look at Feldman, he's been picked in the Australian country side a couple of times, and no-one wants him in their team in 2011/12 or this year. Then again, Harwood is proof of what happens in the country, but it also speaks largely about how the state system will do whatever it can to get players it thinks can be a genuine asset to the state to come and play.

I think you underrate the state bodies' ability to unearth the players from the country that they think are good enough.

I can tell you from personal experience that each and every one of the players that played in the national country champs last year are better than Boomer, so that's about 90 or so players from the country better than a guy who played for a team not the Thunder.